1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of video gaming machines which receive coins or other tokens from a player as payment for playing a game and which provide coins, tokens or credit as outputs to the player in varying amounts depending upon the outcome of the game played by the player.
2. Description of the Related Art
Video gaming machines have become popular alternatives to games played at a table, such as blackjack, poker, or the like, or alternatives to mechanical games such as slot machines or the like. Basically, such video gaming machines provide odds of winning similar to the games which they emulate without requiring a gambling establishment, such as a casino, to hire dealers for card games or to maintain mechanical games such as slot machines. Because of the lower personnel and maintenance requirements, gaming establishments are able to provide more games to more customers. Furthermore, the rate at which a video gaming machine can be played is generally determined by the player. The faster players can play considerably faster than the rate of play at a "live" gaming table or with a mechanical slot machine for example. The slower players can play at a slower pace without the pressure of other players at a table and without slowing down the other players. In any case, it is believed that the flow of money at the gaming establishment is generally improved through the use of the video gaming machines.
Because of the proliferation of video gaming machines, it is important that a gaming establishment have a way of attracting players to its gaming machines as opposed to the gaming machines of other establishments. One method of attracting players is to provide better payback percentages for the video games. Basically, the payback that a game provides is determined by a paytable by which certain combinations of cards (e.g., royal flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, etc., in poker) provide different payback amounts in accordance with the likelihood of such card combinations will occur. In general, the payback amounts are set so that over a long term, the gaming machine will pay back a certain percentage (for example, 93%) of the money deposited in the machine, with the remaining percentage (for example, 7%) going to the gaming establishment. Thus, the goal of each player is to reap a windfall by having the higher payback card combinations occur while he or she is playing the machine and thus be paid from money deposited by other players. By increasing the payback percentages paid, the gaming establishment hopes to attract players that want to increase the likelihood of receiving a significant payback. On the other hand, increasing the payback decreases the gaming establishment's percentage of the total paid into the machine. The gaming establishment obviously needs to increase the cash flow (i.e., deposits into the machine) so that the smaller percentage that it receives is based upon a larger amount so that the overall income from the gaming machine is increased. The present invention is an apparatus and method that is intended to increase the cash flow by encouraging players to play a particular machine more often because of a higher payback percentage so that the winning player is benefitted by the higher payback and so that the gaming establishment is benefitted by the increased cash flow.